Blanket With Fillable Pockets That Automatically Release Pocket Weight For Transport

ABSTRACT

A blanket having a plurality of perimeter weight pockets that automatically allow any pocket weight material to fall out of the weight pockets upon disassembly of the blanket, is disclosed. The blanket pockets are formed with a pocket opening facing towards the perimeter of the blanket, and having a pocket closing flap that is releasably held in place over the pocket opening by a releasable retaining means. Examples of such retaining means may be magnets, hook and loop textile material, snaps, and buttons and elastic material. The retaining force of the retaining means is set to be approximately less than the gravitational force of the pocket weight material held in the pocket, such that when the blanket is lift, the pocket weight material forces open the pocket closing flap, and allowing the pocket weight material to automatically fall out of each perimeter weight pocket.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/230,739, filed on 7 Aug. 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For many outdoor activities, use of a ground blanket is often desired. Examples include at the beach, at a park picnic, or simply sitting on one's lawn. With wind conditions, such blankets often flap up or roll up, and can become a nuisance when the wind catches under the blanket to create a sail.

To prevent such lifting of the edges of a blanket in windy conditions, users often place rocks or stones or sand at the edge of the blanket. While such a simple solution may work for a while, such rocks or sand may become dislodged or kicked off during usage of the blanket, which may result in the edge of the blanket flapping up eventually.

Different designs and mechanisms have been created and used to secure blankets to the ground, including stakes or integral weights, or in some configurations pockets to put materials into to secure the blanket in place. Each of these type of configurations has their own resulting problems. For example, using stakes often requires additional tools to force the stakes into hard ground materials. Similarly, integral weights address that issue, but result in the blanket being very heavy when not in use, making transport and storage more cumbersome.

Blankets that have pockets that may be filled with separate weight materials still require additional work and effort to “disassemble” the blanket, but reaching in and removing the weight material placed in each pocket. Accordingly, while blanket retention devices and mechanisms are available and in use today, each such device and/or mechanism has its own issues and problems preventing ease of use, disassembly, transport, and storage.

What is needed is a blanket having perimeter weighting means that allows for easy and ready removal or release of the weighting means. The blanket should have sections that allow for usage of a variety of weighting means, such as sand, stones, or other heavy objects, where such weighting means is held in place at the blanket perimeter, and maintains the blanket in a fully flat configuration, and still allows for easy release of all such weighting material. Such a blanket design does not appear to have been created or used upon a review of the relevant the prior art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DESCRIBED EMBODIMENTS

The above noted problems inadequately or incompletely resolved by the prior art are addressed and resolved by the present invention. The present invention is a blanket having perimeter weight pockets designed to hold weighting material, such as sand or stones, and further designed such that upon simply lifting the center of the blanket all weighting material is released and falls out of the perimeter weight pockets. The problem solved by the invention is to ability to easily hold a blanket in place, by putting weighting material in the perimeter weight pockets, and allow for easy release and removal of all such weighting material, so that the blanket can be readily stored and transported in a light weight and compact configuration. Examples and certain embodiments of the present invention are summarized below.

In one embodiment, there is disclosed a blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, comprising a center blanket section, a plurality of pockets formed along the perimeter of said center blanket section, wherein each of said plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket flap, and wherein each plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket opening formed facing radially away from a center of said center blanket section.

In a further embodiment, there is disclosed a blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, comprising a center blanket section, a plurality of pockets formed along the perimeter of said center blanket section, wherein each of said plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket flap, and wherein each plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket opening formed facing radially away from a center of said center blanket section, and further comprising a pocket flap retaining means.

In another embodiment, there is disclosed a blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, comprising a center blanket section, a plurality of pockets formed along the perimeter of, and extending radially away from the center of said center blanket section, wherein each of said plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket flap, and wherein each plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket opening formed facing radially away from a center of said center blanket section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purposes of illustrating the invention, the attached drawings show certain aspects and embodiments that are presently preferred. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise elements, configurations, sizing, shapes, as shown in the accompanying drawings, but rather is further disclosed and claimed according to the attached claims.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the blanket having perimeter weight pockets shown in a rectilinear configuration.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the blanket having perimeter weight pockets shown in a rectilinear configuration with the pocket flaps closed.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the perimeter weight pockets, pocket flap, and retaining elements.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a first step to release the weighting material from the perimeter weight pockets, showing the perimeter weight pockets in contact with the ground and the pocket flaps not opened.

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a second step to release the weighting material from the perimeter weight pockets, showing the perimeter weight pockets not in contact with the ground and the pocket flaps opened due to the weighting material opening the retaining elements and opening the pocket flaps.

FIG. 5A is a top view of another exemplary embodiment of the blanket having extended perimeter weight pockets shown with the pocket flaps open.

FIG. 5B is a top view of another exemplary embodiment of the blanket having extended perimeter weight pockets shown with the pocket flaps closed.

FIG. 6A is a top view of another exemplary embodiment of the blanket, in a hexagon configuration, having extended perimeter weight pockets shown with the pocket flaps open.

FIG. 6B is a top view of another exemplary embodiment of the blanket, in a hexagon configuration, having extended perimeter weight pockets shown with the pocket flaps closed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

A blanket having a plurality of perimeter weight pockets, for outdoor or indoor use, is described and disclosed. The blanket design is innovative with respect to the configuration of the perimeter weight pockets, along with the weight pockets flap and flap retaining element. The blanket 100 is designed to have a plurality of perimeter weight pockets 200 attached to the blanket 100 along with pocket flaps 250 and pocket flap retaining elements 275.

The blanket 100 design provides that the blanket 100 may be unfolded and placed on the ground, and then the perimeter weight pockets 200 may be filled with any available weighting material, such as sand or stones, and then the pocket flaps 250 are folded over the pocket opening 225, with the pocket flaps 250 being held in place by one or more pocket flap retaining elements 275.

In such an “assembled” configuration, the blanket 100 is maintained in place against wind or other inadvertent or natural forces. When the users wish to pack up the blanket, the blanket can be readily “disassembled” by simply lifting the blanket 100 by a center area of the blanket 100 such that the weighted pockets are drawn down, and the weighting material forces open the pocket flap retaining elements 275, and forces open the pocket flaps 250 such that all of the weighting material falls down and out of the now open perimeter weight pockets 200. The blanket 100 can now be easily folded, rolled, and stored without any of the weighting material.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4B, the blanket 100, perimeter weight pockets 200, pocket flaps 250, and pocket flap retaining elements 275, are shown in one exemplary embodiment. More particularly, FIG. 1 shows blanket 100 as laid out on a flat surface or the ground with four perimeter weight pockets 200 formed at each corner of the blanket 100 in a triangle shape. Also shown are the pocket flaps 250 formed at each corner of the blanket 100, also in a triangle shape. From this configuration, a user may place any readily available weight material into each perimeter weighting pocket 200 through each perimeter weighting pocket opening 225. Examples of such weight material could be sand, dirt, stones, pebbles, rocks, weights, or any other similar readily available materials.

Once the perimeter weighting pockets 200 are filled with available weight material, the pocket flaps 250 are folded over to enclose the weight material within the perimeter weighting pockets 200. FIG. 2 shows an example of the pocket flaps 250 folded over and held in place with the pocket flap retaining elements 275. Examples of pocket flap retaining elements 275 could be magnets, snaps, hook and loop textile materials, and buttons and elastic elements. In further detail, as shown in FIG. 3 , the available weight material is placed within the perimeter weight pockets through the pocket opening 225.

A core aspect of the invention is that force necessary to open or release the pocket flap retaining elements 275. The design provides that the weight or gravitational force of the weight material placed within each perimeter weighting pocket 200 should be greater than the force necessary to open or release the pocket flap retaining elements 275. With such a design, and providing of the force to open the pocket flap retaining elements 275, by simply lifting the blanket 100 at a center location, the weight material will force open the pocket flaps 250 because the weight material gravitational force is greater than the force to open the pocket flap retaining elements 275.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the blanket 100 is lifted the perimeter weighting pockets are drawn downwards (see FIG. 4A), and as the blanket 100 is then lifted higher, the weight material forces open the pocket flaps 250 by forcing open the pocket flap retaining elements, as shown in FIG. 4B.

For the blanket to work properly, in preferred embodiments, the perimeter weighting pockets 200 should be formed at the edges or perimeter of the blanket 100. Moreover, to ensure the blanket 100 is held in place from all directions, the perimeter weighting pockets 200 should be formed at multiple locations along the blanket 100 perimeter, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4A, and 4B. Moreover, as described above, and shown in the figures, the perimeter weighting pocket openings 225 must be facing radially away from the center of the blanket 100 such that as the blanket is lifted (as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B), the weight material tends to fall out of the perimeter weight pocket 200, and forces open the pocket flap.

In different embodiments, the blanket 100 may have a cutout or grommet, or handle located at the center of the blanket 100 to provide for easy location, and ease of lifting. Alternatively, the center of the blanket 100 may simply be a logo or some other position locator.

In different preferred embodiments, the blanket 100 may be manufactured from any number of textiles or fabrics. For ease of cleaning, the blanket 100 may be made of a machine washable material. Similarly, the perimeter weighting pockets 200 and pocket flaps 250 may be manufactured from a material similar to the blanket 100, or in alternative embodiments may be manufactured from a more durable material, such as pliable thermoplastic, or vinyl, or leather. The more durable materials would tend to be more resilient to wear and tear especially given that heavy weight materials would likely be placed within the perimeter weighting pockets 200.

In another embodiment, the perimeter weight pockets 200 and pocket flaps 250 may be formed along the blanket perimeter, and extending radially away from the blanket center. FIGS. 5A, 5B, and FIGS. 6A and 6B show example views of two different blanket shapes, each having the perimeter weight pockets 200 and pocket flaps 250 formed as extensions away from the blanket center. Such configurations provide enhanced spacing because the perimeter weight pockets 200 and pocket flaps do not take up area on the blanket 100, and thereby provide the users with more blanket area to use. FIGS. 5A and 5B show a rectilinear blanket shape with the flaps open (FIG. 5A) and flaps closed (FIG. 5B). Similarly, FIGS. 6A and 6B show a hexagon blanket shape with the flaps open (FIG. 6A) and flaps closed (FIG. 6B).

While several preferred embodiments of the inventive blanket with a plurality of perimeter weighting pockets have been described and disclosed, in particular with reference to certain figures and drawings showing certain exemplary embodiments that relate to a particular shape, configuration, and size of such blanket, such configurations, designs, and embodiments are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the inventive device. For example, as described above, the blanket 100 may be made in different shapes, sizes, and configurations, including square, rectangular, circle, oval, or having a polygon shape. Moreover, the materials that may be used to manufacture the blanket, the perimeter weighting pockets, the pocket flaps, and the pocket flap retaining elements are fully open to any material that provides for effective use of the blanket 100. All such alternate embodiments are believed to be within the scope of the inventive design and the below claims.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other modifications, substitutions, and/or other applications are possible, and all such modifications, substitutions and applications are within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. It is likewise understood that the above disclosure and attached claims are intended to cover all such modifications, substitutions, and/or applications. 

What I claim as my invention is:
 1. A blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, comprising: a center blanket section; a plurality of pockets formed along the perimeter of said center blanket section, wherein each of said plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket flap, and wherein each plurality of pockets is formed with a pocket opening formed facing radially away from a center of said center blanket section.
 2. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 1, wherein said plurality of pockets and plurality of pocket flaps are manufactured from a pliable thermoplastic material.
 3. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 1, further comprising a pocket flap retaining means.
 4. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 3, wherein said pocket flap retaining means has a retaining force less than a gravitational force of a weighted material placed within a pocket, such that when said blanket is lifted from said center of said center blanket section, said weighted material forces open said pocket flap, and said weighted material falls out of said pocket.
 5. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 3, wherein said pocket flap retaining means is at least one of a magnet, hook and loop textile material, snaps, button and elastic loop.
 6. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 1, wherein said center blanket section is a rectilinear shape.
 7. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 1, wherein said center blanket section is a polygon shape.
 8. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 1, wherein said center blanket section is a circular shape.
 9. The blanket having a plurality of perimeter pockets, as provided in claim 1, wherein said plurality of pockets are formed extending radially away from a center of said center blanket section. 